Saturday, August 24, 2013

This is part four of a series of articles that will demonstrate the results that I encountered many years ago when I sought to invoke and contact the spirits of the Nephilim, namely the four greater chiefs of that body. I use the term Nephilim to describe the fallen angels of the Sons of God who came down to earth to mate with the “daughters of men” as well as their offspring, who were considered giants (men or women of renown). From these spirits I received a body of lore and a perspective on Enochian magick that is completely unprecedented. I would like to share with my readers some of the lore that I received from these entities and to demonstrate that the Nephilim are indeed highly important to the Enochian system of magick. I will follow up the third article with a fourth that will reveal the results of the invocation of Turiel.

Notes from the Invocation of Turiel

This invocation was mysterious as it was brief, since the manifestation of Turiel was very subtle and little verbal information was received. It was performed on November 28, 1992. However, the effect of the rite produced a number of bodily sensations (but none of them were uncomfortable) that precipitated a deep fugue state consisting of personal reflection and self insight. This invocation was experienced at a very deep internal level, and will produce more insights and ideas that will surface at undetermined intervals (weeks, months, or perhaps even years) after the initial working. The notes below represents the essence of what was communicated to me by the spirit. However, that communication was not verbal, but related in dreams, sensations and insights.

A Question of Balance and Magical Partnership

The true alignment to the gods, its mysteries and secrets, lay within the essence of the joining of a priestess and a priest. It can’t be discovered without first having a partner. Yet to you is given all of the hints and important elements, the ritual patterns and information necessary to reveal the secret knowledge. What mystery remains to be discovered is how to cultivate a suitable partner, and this, too, will be known in time.

An important question (and not to be omitted) is whether she will want to work the magickal and liturgical rites with you. Will she assist you in your spiritual and magical quest? During the times when the spirit of your magical genius is upon you, only those who agree to work these newly constructed rites will ultimately be relevant. The rest will all fall away as if they were illusions instead of real people. This represents a great test for any woman who would seek your favor. It is a challenge to be undertaken or discarded, and if it is undertaken, then it must be sustainable. A failure of either type (discarding a challenge or giving it up after a short duration) signifies an obvious unworthiness and incompatibility - with no blame to any parties. Know this, and more importantly, understand it. The times of great power shall conjure a partner (or not), yet beware of other times when distractions shall take you off of your spiritual and magical course. Don’t trust or believe in flattery or false promises, since these are motivated by delusion and fantasy. Only actions count in these situations, and observable long term commitments, the rest is just empty words. (Remember this lesson well in the future years, or you shall discover the bitterness and unhappiness of having a bad relationship with a woman.)

[This seemed to be a warning to me, but it actually had a greater subtlety than I realized. It really goes both ways, which is the importance of finding a committed partner and also giving her the space and respect for her to find her own voice in her role within the work. The fact that I was not able to secure such a relationship until many years later was perhaps a testament to the fact that I didn’t understand or fully realize this warning.]

Once these two conditions are met, then the third test is whether you will choose her, and thereby take the initiative. The time of establishing a working partner is thus established. The union must be both physical and spiritual in order to be fulfilling on all levels of your being. This is what you should seek for in your hunt for a mate, all other avenues are illusory.

Ritual Comments

The invocation of Turiel was begun during the hour of Jupiter, when the Moon was in the Sign of Aquarius, two days before the First Quarter, on Saturday, November 28, 1992. The rite began at 10:40 PM EST, and was completed at 1:48 AM, the next day. The exteriorization occurred (via the solar gate) at Tuesday evening, on December 1.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Nick Farrell recently threw down the gauntlet and challenged the supposed secret chiefs to communicate with him and prove, once and for all, their existence - or else, something, something. He then spent a month building up his expectations that a high adept must be something of a superman or quasi avatar, a half-human and half god-like being. He compared such a being with the Theosophical Mahatmas, which are very nearly godlike transcendent individuals. Most of us just expected the challenge to come and go without anything or anyone materializing. Certainly, if I were an enlightened being, why would I bother with someone as apparently flawed and arrogant as Mr. Farrell?

However, much to everyone’s surprise, someone did answer Nick’s call to meet with a representative of the secret chiefs. Even so, the meeting was with just another (well dressed) human being but with quite an amazing occult pedigree. That climactic ending to the month-long challenge was something of a shocker for me, but Nick’s response to this fascinating situation could be summed up with the words, “Meh, thanks, but no thanks.” He was sorely disappointed that the erstwhile master was a flesh and blood human being who seemed to be no more amazing or special than himself, or at least at first impression. Anyway, you can find Nick’s blog article here, and read it for yourself.

Here a few juicy tidbits from Mr. Farrell’s post.

“He was exactly what you would expect from a secret chief. Well, dressed, calm, urbane, and clearly well off. He managed to look younger than he was. He told me he was a Corsican of aristocratic pedigree.

We met in a coffee shop close to St Peter’s so that my wife, Paola, who works in the area, could act as a translator so that he would be more comfortable talking.

He was extremely interesting having been connected with lots of magical orders and alchemical groups that I had never heard of. In one breath he was in something called the Osiris Order, the next it was Grand Orient and Scottish Rite freemasonry and the Italian strain of Misraim and Myriam. There were lots of great French alchemists named, his greatest love appeared to be Alchemy and he threw a lot of alchemical words into the conversation which I totally failed to understand.”

All of this is quite interesting, in fact, and does seem to be very likely. Nick is describing someone who might very well be a high adept, or at least connected to high adepts. If I were attending this kind of meeting, I would be quite interested in knowing more. I would certainly be cautious but open, at any rate.

Since Mr. Farrell has not since written that his experience was just a hoax to titillate his allies and throw off his critics, I think that we can assume that he was sincere in what he reported. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, although there are many reasons to doubt his “truthiness” regarding secret chiefs. Nick wrote the whole thing off as an encounter with an occult trickster or confidence man. He was especially appalled when the man told him that membership to his organization and access to secret alchemical lore would cost him money. If what Nick wrote was accurate, then there seemed to be more behind the encounter than just an interview with some confidence man. I was intrigued by what Mr. Farrell experienced, but he was disappointed, and it would seem that he had no intention of advancing this curious occult contact any further.

Instead of being open minded and having an inquiring mind, Nick was, in fact, dismissive and even a bit put out. This individual was obviously not a “secret chief” of Nick’s specific line of the Golden Dawn and didn’t know the secret password and sign associated with his inner order, or for that matter, much about the Golden Dawn itself. He also didn’t appear in a blaze of majestic light accompanied by the sounds of heavenly trumpets, nor was he heralded by an angelic choir. It was actually a rather banal and humdrum experience in a commercial coffee shop. It was, in fact, a kind of meeting that people have every day of the week. Nick’s secret chief challenge appeared to be answered, but not by someone or something with the “right stuff.” Maybe Mr. Farrell was protecting himself from being swindled or made a fool of, or perhaps he was just too cynical or jaded to be able to discern a real encounter with someone who might have been remarkable.

One of the individuals who commented on that article seemed to have a lot more insight into some of the things that this individual talked about. In fact, it is likely that Alex Sumner may have revealed some very interesting clues about Italian and continental occultism in regards to this supposed secret chief - you can find his article here. We who lack an expertise to converse and read in foreign languages like Italian, French and German will not have access to the occult knowledge-base that is to be found on the European continent. We will be narrowly confined to what is available in the English speaking world, and it is likely there is rich source of magic and occultism in Europe, not to mention organizations and adepts, that lie behind the barrier of language. So, it would seem that Nick Farrell got his wish and his challenge was met with a counter challenge, but he wasn’t interested in investigating it further, and therefore, probably missed an opportunity to meet and connect with some remarkable men and women.

Previously, I have written about what I call (self-made) remarkable men and women within the occult world, and I believe that these are the true high adepts, or at least they are individuals who can inspire and point one to the next important stage of their path towards the Great Work. You can find that article here. I have also defined what it is to be an adept or a high adept, since these levels of spiritual and magical achievement are not beyond my ability to rationally discuss. Such exalted individuals are, in fact, human beings, just like us, flawed and imperfect, but with a greater knowledge and levels of experience than us. Certainly, these kinds of individuals and their obscure treasuries of lore are all around us, and from time to time, we might have a chance to stumble upon them. Or, if we persevere, we might become a remarkable man or woman ourselves, inspiring others with our work and knowledge. Such are the possibilities and potentials for growth and spiritual evolution that exist as opportunities arrayed before us, all we need to do is to engage them and determine their validity.

What I believe happened to Nick Farrell was that he met one of these incredible remarkable men, or at least, a representative of one of them. He had a true and rare encounter with someone who might have been an important link in his spiritual and magical process. This individual might also have been a complete fraud and a crook, but only a careful examination would have revealed that fact. To pass up a potential opportunity with one of these amazing individuals and their organization is, in my opinion, the height of folly. The door leading to great spiritual and magical opportunity opens but rarely in the life of an occultist, and when it does, it behooves one to investigate it fully so that he or she might validate the individuals and the group behind it.

Yet it would seem that Nick is stuck in his own small bubble of Golden Dawn reconstructed lore when there are possible living traditions within his grasp. He decries those who jump from magical organization to organization, not admitting that sometimes one has to look elsewhere in order to faithfully follow one’s spiritual and magical path. Nick’s supposed secret chief required some kind of money for the teachings that he had to share and impart, and this is not really too unusual. I have found that rubes and outsiders often devalue something that is given for free, and as far as promising wealth, well there are quite a number of interpretations of what that would be in terms of outcomes.

Nick said that this supposed secret chief didn’t ask him any questions or try to determine Nick’s level of knowledge. Perhaps his erstwhile master was testing Nick throughout this process and trying to determine how serious he was about mastering a whole new occult perspective and system of lore. It might also be true that he was also trying to fraudulently bilk money from Nick. However, since Mr. Farrell was unwilling to even attempt to validate this potential master and teacher, we will never know whether or not he was authentic.

This brings me to my point in writing up this article. If by some chance you might meet a remarkable man or woman, how can you tell if they are legitimate? How can you know an authentic master from one that is a fake? How do you comport yourself to ensure your own personal safety and the safety of your fortune from potentially fraudulent teachers? There are some basic common sense measures that one can take to validate a remarkable person and determine their authenticity without being dismissive, cynical, and obnoxious on one hand, or being a credulous fool and a complete sucker on the other hand. I have previously written an article about magical teachers and paying for occult knowledge. You can find it here.

One very important consideration is to enter into a trial period in order to determine if what is being presented by a teacher is legitimate or relevant. If it takes a large sum of money to even get into the door, then the supposed lore is probably suspect and the teacher is likely a fraud. An honest high adept would allow a potential student to test his or her lore, or at the very least to give something to the student so that he or she can form an opinion before committing to a large expenditure in terms of resources and time.

Remarkable men and women can be opinionated, irascible, and even at times, harsh, but they are, as a rule, fair and even handed. The knowledge that they possess is authentic, and it doesn’t take too much time or effort to prove that. My advice would be to behave respectfully and ask lots of questions. Allow the potential teacher to ask questions as well. It is important for mutual trust to be fully engaged before the period of training can begin, and once that trust is established, it should be a clue that the student believes in the validity of the teacher. However, it might take a while before that mutual trust is established, and that should be perfectly acceptable to all parties. The teacher, if he or she is legitimate, shouldn’t have to rush the student into making any kind of decision.

A true mentor is patient, understanding and sensitive to the needs of his or her charge. Anything that is rushed or purposely made obscure by the potential teacher should set off the student’s alarm bells. An important consideration is that teachers, like students, are just human beings with human failings. You should never expect your teacher to be perfect or even to practice what they teach at all times. However, there is no excuse for a teacher behaving in an exploitative manner, and all teacher-student relationships should be open ended. When a teacher becomes irrelevant, then the student should respectfully but firmly end the relationship. This is also true if the relationship becomes abusive to any degree.

I believe that if the student uses the above common sense approach to dealing with a remarkable man or woman who could potentially become a valuable teacher, then what they will receive will be quite amazing and remarkable. When we have a meeting with a remarkable man or woman, then we should seek to validate them and the lore that they desire to impart to us. Not taking advantage of such a situation, in my opinion, is not only foolish, but it is highly self-limiting.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

I have already discussed in detail the nature of substrate monism in a previous two-part article, but I wanted to show how monism can be used to fortify the magical process of theurgy. Since I defined macranthropy as an important step in the formulation of a monistic perspective, I have also found it very important in explaining how a modern pagan engaging with a plurality of gods and goddesses can evolve their beliefs into a form of pagan monism. So, it would seem that macranthropy is the missing key to the process of theurgic ascension and the adoption of an occult philosophy.

Let me take the definition that I proposed for macranthropy found in the my previous articles and copy it here so that we have a working definition from which to proceed.

“That process of coalescing a pantheon of deities into a single met-deity is called “macranthropy,” from macranthropus or “cosmic person.”

Macranthropy, or the creation of a meta-deity from a pantheon of many deities, allows for the paradox of both focusing on a single unified deity as well as focusing on the individual deities within the pantheon. ”

So it would seem that macranthropy is a mechanism where a henotheistic practice would be expanded to the point where that deity would assume a kind of super-deity or cosmic being perspective. How that would work in a theurgy of ascension through magical progression is actually quite simple and natural. In fact, macranthropy helps fill in an important gap in the overall process. Let’s go over what this structure would look like with macranthropy acting as an important bridge.

In the form of theurgy that I work, there are actually two targets. The first target is the personification of my own self as a deity, or what I call the God/dess Within. It is analogous to the Higher Self or Atman, and the objective is to gain as much of a conscious connection with that entity as possible. To facilitate that end I have chosen a specific godhead to act as an attribute of that being-ness, and I believe that it is a very important task to engage with that deity within a form of intensive spiritual alignment. In this fashion I have determined the microcosmic focus for the work as a powerful extension that reaches into the core of my higher self.

The second target is the corresponding macrocosmic godhead, and for this I would choose a deity that would be compatible with the specific godhead associated with my higher self. By compatible, I mean that it should be from the same cultural pantheon and represent an analogous quality. Since I happen to be a heterosexual male, then the godhead of my higher self is masculine and the corresponding macrocosmic godhead is female. (For those who have a different sexual orientation, these choices would be different, of course.) In my mind there is a powerful polarity between these two beings that will facilitate their joining into a unified expression of the One. Therefore, carefully choosing these two deities is a very important part of the work. The deity representing one’s higher self would be an analogue of one’s self, and the deity representing the macrocosmic godhead should be compatible with that deity of one’s higher self.

Once these two deities are chosen, then it is up to the theurgist to build up a powerful representation of them in his or her mind. It isn’t enough to just select these deities, one must also become powerfully intimate and completely knowledgeable of them as well. The mechanism for establishing an intimate contact with these two deities is through the process of spiritual alignment, but there are some differences in the methodology and degree in how one proceeds with each of them. The godhead representing one’s higher self is the first target to whom the magician must develop a powerful relationship, so all of the steps of alignment are fully incorporated, and this is performed for as long a period as necessary so that the higher self becomes fully realized in the guise of the chosen godhead.

For instance, if the godhead representing the higher self was Osiris of the Egyptian pantheon of deities, then the corresponding godhead representing the macrocosmic godhead would have to be Isis. To pick any other deity as the overall target would be silly, for instance, Sekhmet, Hecate or Ishtar. It is important that the deities chosen for this work makes overall objective sense, and that there is enough historical material to fill out the practices of spiritual alignment for both deities.

Alignment is defined as devotion, invocation, assumption, sacrifice and communion. Devotion consists of regular and periodic services to the godhead, such as offerings, paeans, hymns, praise and cultic services. I define cultic services as any task associated with keeping up the personal shrine of the deity including the overall temple environment. Invocation is the regular and periodic summoning of the deity, sacrifice is the giving of permanent and special offerings, communion is the sharing and ingesting of sacraments, and godhead assumption is where the seeker as cult priest assumes the mantle of the qualities and persona of the deity. I have covered these items in previous posts, and you can find them here, here and here. A complete examination of these required practices and their development is an important step in this process of theurgic ascension, and this is done for both deities.

Once a full and complete alignment is established with the godhead representing the higher self, then this connection can be augmented through the use of the ritual of the invocation of the Bornless (Headless) One. Other ordeals can also be performed, such as the Lunar Abramelin Ordeal or the Talismanic Portae Lucis Ordeal, or a combination of them. It is important to note that the foundation for theurgic ascension is to acquire a near-conscious connection with the higher self. Once this connection has been powerfully established, then the magician may perform the following process of theurgic ascension.

I have defined theurgic ascension to consist of the following five steps, and these five steps are focused on the target deity representing the macrocosmic expression of the godhead. The magician must, in addition, ensure that he or she also has that potent connection to the higher self, and the tasks of alignment are required for that deity as well as the target deity - both must be served ardently and passionately. It might even be necessary for all other activities to cease at that time so that the focus on the godhead of the higher self and the godhead of the macrocosm might be completely undisturbed and as perfect as possible. The lunar cycle is the gauge and measurement for the cycles of devotion, invocation, assumption, sacrifice and communion, but each person will have their own preferences as to when the greater ordeal is to be performed. The following five steps are sharply focused on the target macrocosmic deity.

1. Focus on the specific deity - adopt a form of henotheism and establish a full spiritual alignment for it. This would include devotion, invocation, sacrifice, communion and offerings, but not yet assumption (for obvious reasons). Each service is performed while under the guise of the godhead of the higher self, thus giving it far more potency.

2. Explore the polarity and potential union with the target deity - the macrocosmic deity becomes the personal lover of the self in the guise of the godhead of the higher self. This polarity must be experienced as the passion for union, and it must be inflated incrementally until it is almost unendurable.

3. Use macranthropy to expand the nature of the macrocosmic deity until is becomes the ultimate, absolute and only deity. All other deities in the chosen pantheon are just part of the overall body of the macrocosmic deity. This is performed through the devices of exhortations, meditations and visualizations. One could even conceivably perform Qabalistic pathworkings and attribute everything experienced as attributes and elements of the body of that cosmic godhead. While this is occurring, the very foundation of the godhead higher self will undergo a process of expansion as well, since it has established a powerful and passionate link to that macrocosmic godhead, thus becoming the perfect representation of the microcosm.

4. Facilitate ecstatic union (magical hieros gamos) - once the stage is set where the targeted godhead and the godhead of the higher self have achieved the highest degree of polarity and total realization of the microcosm and macrocosm, then (and only then) the magician performs the assumption of the targeted macrocosmic godhead. This is done periodically and repeatedly until the union of the microcosmic godhead and the macrocosmic godhead are fully objectified and all differences are slowly dissolved until they begin to disappear altogether. Other mechanisms that would establish a corresponding physical ecstasy could also be employed in this step, thereby making the power and efficacy of this process even more potent. (It is assumed, however, that just performing the macrocosmic godhead assumption after such an arduous process would be all that is needed for a corresponding spiritual and physical ecstasy, but other mechanisms, such as the careful and minute use of sacramental drugs, sex magic, breathing exercises and visualizations could also be employed.)

5. Full Assumption of the Cosmic Godhead - once step four is fully realized, then the magician can perform the invocation of the Bornless (Headless) One as the godhead of the higher self invoking the Cosmic Deity in a full and objective magical realization of this tangible expression of the One within and throughout the consciousness of the magician. In order to maintain this high state of being, the magician should continue to perform the full spiritual alignment rites of both the godhead of the higher self as well as the macrocosmic godhead.

Once such a powerful state of being, awake within the being of the One, has been achieved, there is the corresponding consideration of what the magician will do after acquiring enlightenment. Is it the end of the whole process? According to what I know about the magical initiation cycle, achieving enlightenment is only half of the process. The magician who is dissolved and one with the Absolute Spirit or Unity of Being has many possible paths and directions to proceed. Certainly, once this massive elevation has been fully realized, there is the corresponding requirement to do the will of One within the domain of the Many, and this would entail being a physical mediator for the descent of Spirit into the physical world and its ultimate ascent and recovery.

The enlightened magician would play a very important part in the process of world enlightenment, or the enlightenment of all of the human race. That would require him or her to be a bridge between the One and the Many, and function as one of the archetypes of the Few, to redeem and anneal the duality caused by the effects of the individual mind and the petty ego, one person at a time. This is an eminent task, but one that cannot be limited to just one enlightened individual. It will take a veritable army of enlightened individuals over a period of many millennia to accomplish this task. Even so, the task is accomplished individually, both in terms of achieving enlightenment as well as spreading it to others. Perhaps I have assisted in this task simply by writing up this article, and who knows what it will do to those who read it and undertake the great work that it reveals.

So, that’s my take on a full and complete method of theurgic ascension. This process could be performed by a single individual, or by a couple, who would perform it separately as well as jointly. It also helps to have someone to objectify the experience, so doing it with a working partner is probably the best approach. This ordeal is certainly not for the half-hearted and requires a considerable amount of time, resources and an exclusive focus. Most magicians would find these requirements prohibitive since they would have to earn a living and do other things besides consistently and continuously working all of these various rites.

In order for these workings to be the most effective, a magician would also have to do a lot of research so that the lunar and solar calendar of events would be thoroughly known, and then incorporated into the daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal practices. I have no illusions as to the difficulty of this ordeal, but I am quite certain that it would work. When a magician would fully complete such an ordeal, then he or she would have achieved a full and complete conscious union with the One, and that will, I believe, fully establish a state of near perfect enlightenment.

Achieving such a lofty state of consciousness has its own rewards, of course, but it is, I believe, one of the ways in which the Great Work could be accomplished through the methodology of ritual magick. Hopefully, I will be able to some day have the opportunity to perform this ordeal and discover all of the intricacies involved in its resolution and realization. I look forward to that time, since it will likely be when I have retired from my daily regimen of work and material responsibilities so that I could have the time and resources to perform it. Until that time, at least I now have a mechanism to consider and to build up within my magical lore.

Macranthropy was the missing key to this overall process, and reading Thomas McEviley’s book helped me to realize all the parts that I needed in order to contemplate a magical solution to the problem of enlightenment and theurgic ascension.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

This is part 2 of a two part series of articles on the nature of
pagan monism, it's history and importance to modern paganism. Since I
have written that I am a monist, I felt that it was important to define
exactly what that was, and how I used it in my study and practice. Part 2 contains an historical narrative that shows how monism developed and evolved over time. I will be focusing on that evolution within Greek philosophy, but such a transition also occurred elsewhere, most particularly in India, where monism was perfected and retained its non-dual nature.

A Very Brief Historical Exposition of Greek Philosophy

The first Greek philosopher to propose a form of philosophical monism was the Ionian Greek, Thales of Miletus (624 - 546 BCE). He proposed what was known as a form of material monism, where the unifying attribute was proposed to be the element of water. While this was a new concept amongst the Greeks, it was not new to other cultures, such as Mesopotamia or Egypt, and it is likely that Thales, who was well traveled, may have acquired his perspective through the diffusion of ideas from other geographic cultures. (Thomas McEviley, in his book, proposes that the diffusion of ideas between different geographic locations occurred as readily as the dispersion of trade goods, and very likely followed the same pathways.)

Thale’s proposition is considered a semi-abstraction by modern philosophers, representing a kind of substrate monism, which is the hypothesis that reality has a foundational unity underlying all material manifestation. Thales chose water as his primordial element, but others who came after him proposed other elements, such as air or fire. The idea inherent in this hypothesis was that the primordial element changed its form and appearance through various processes (evaporation, condensation, contraction, etc.) to emulate the variety of different physical forms and substances. This new perspective represented a post mythological concept, merging the elements of both natural science and philosophic abstraction. However, it also retained a certain mythological flexibility along with its more material based hypothesis. Even so, this hypothesis took the idea of the origin of the material universe out of the mythic narrative involving the personalities and actions of deities to an abstract terminology. It was, in a word, the birth of philosophy out of religious and mythological discourse.

So substrate monism evolved, eventually losing its material form until that unifying attribute became Being itself. This occurred because if a material basis was ascribed as the source, then the very nature of that element became negated. For instance, if everything was based on the element of water, then the qualities of water ceased to be relevant or meaningful. This was also true no matter what physical attribute was ascribed to the source, whether water, air, fire, or all four elements - fire, water, air and earth - such as what Empedocles proposed later on. It was only when the substrate monism became associated with an attribute that was beyond any specific named entity or quality was it able to become established beyond logical refutation. That final determiner became the very nature of being itself, which was proposed as the unity underlying all things. In India, the substrate monism was called “brahman,” (with a small “b”) which means being, and in Greek, it was called “apeiron” (indefinite).

The process of demythologizing the concept of the One was started by the pre-Socratic philosopher named Anaximander (610 - 546 BCE) who proposed that the principle element was indeterminate, or as he named it, apeiron. Anaximander proposed that the One was unlimited and unbounded, thereby releasing its association with any quantifiable element or specifically identifiable thing, thereby making it a conceptual abstraction. Yet it was Xenophanes (570 - 475 BCE) who pushed the conceptualization of the One to its ultimate and conclusive definition. First of all, Xenophanes criticized anthropomorphism as a cultural or ego based projection, proposing that the One must be formless and contain no knowable attributes. He was the founder of Eleatic monism, which postulated that the One is coexistent with the world of the Many, but only the One is real.

Thus Eleatic monism was a kind of philosophic pantheism. He also proposed that the One is both the universal subject and object (everything that you see is the One, and everything that sees is the One). However, if the One is real, then senses that perceive the Many are actually experiencing an illusion. Therefore, knowledge of the Many cannot occur without introducing this error. The One is, the Many merely seem to be. Additionally, the One has two modes, formed and formless, but only the formless is real. The formed is the mechanism whereby the Many are created, therefore ensuring the integrity of the One. This is a distinction between the absolute (as the One) and relative being (the Many). Xenophanes proposed a world where the gods and humans both lived in a finite and illusory world similarly diminished by the transcendental One, being therefore a kind of psychic projection of themselves.

Once the source and underlying unity was defined as being, then a division occurred between that source as One, and everything else, which was called the Many. In order to establish a non-dual perspective, which was the underlying purpose to these hypotheses, it was important to signify one or the other as the true reality (they couldn’t both be real), and that made the corresponding other as unreal or illusory. Therefore, in India, the material world (the Many) was called Maya (illusion) and in Greek, Doxa (seeming) or Ananke (necessity), and these became personified as a kind of philosophical goddess in both systems.

It was further determined that the One was perfect, formless (yet conceptually spherical), static and unchanging, since the material world of the Many was constantly changing and mutating, although in a periodic and cyclic manner. The One had to be differentiated from the Many, so they assumed opposite qualities. The true reality was the transcendent One, and the illusory world of constant change was the material based Many. It was a polarity between Being and Non-being, but it had the unfortunate impact of negating the whole of the material world. There was also the problem of reconciling creation, where the One became manifested as the Many. Since the One was considered static and unmovable, and the Many was in constant motion, it was paradoxical to consider that somehow something static would be able to instigate the motion of the material world - something had to drive that which was in motion. Early thinking had postulated that the One actually existed in two states to enable creation of the Many, but this was quickly supplanted by the addition of a new quality.

Beginning with Pythagoras, the problem of how the static and unchanging One was able to manifest into the many was resolved through the use of intermediaries, in this case, the base-ten numbers, the four elements, and then later the triangle as the first perfect form (such as the tetractys, which is a triangle incorporating the numbers one through ten). Although Pythagoras considered the number 1 to represent the monistic godhead, the rest of the numbers established a kind of foundational mathematics that facilitated the creation of forms. These intermediaries were referred to as the Few, and they adopted both the static and changeableness qualities of the One and the material world. They were the drivers of the constant change of the material world. Later on, Plato would propose that the Few was also populated with the world of ideas (what Jung would later call archetypes), building a philosophical system that explained how the Many were formed from the One through the intermediation of the Few.

There is a problem with this philosophical construct, and that is the fact that the material world is judged as illusory and without being. Since human beings who inhabit the material world seem to have aspects that could be considered relative to both that world and the true reality, one would have to propose that each human being contains within them an aspect of that source of all being. This element can be either considered illusory and ignored (as in Buddhism) or completely incorporated within one’s practice, such as in the Indian Tantras. Pagan magic (theurgy) would also follow the path established by Indian Tantra (in my opinion), but there is still the problem of how to engage with the material world when it is considered to be an illusion.

Another alternative philosophical perspective that contradicted and disputed the claim that the material world was illusory was inaugurated by the philosophical writings of Democritus (460 - 370 BCE). He proposed the opposite notion, that the material world apprehended by the senses was the only true reality and that the monist substrate was occupied by matter in the form of atoms. These two hypotheses were constantly at war with each other, since they represented two diametrical positions. Plato ended up being the one who lionized the former, and Aristotle, the latter. This dichotomy continues to this day, with those who are aligned to an occult or religious perspective in the west that is based on Platonism, and those who are aligned with a scientific perspective that is based on Aristotle. We can see it in the opposition of the modern philosophy of Kant and Locke, and it continues to trouble, more or less, adherents of either persuasion.

However, as a modern pagan, I find myself unable to fully adopt the original concept where the material world is judged to be merely an illusion. I have found both joy and sorrow living in a body in the material world, but I feel that all aspects of this sensory experience represent a greater overall good. Perhaps I am an optimist because nothing really tragic or devastating has ever occurred to me in my life. I have managed to avoid war, destruction and catastrophe in my life so far, but even so, there seems to me to be a kind of fundamental reality and even a preciousness associated with life in the material world. This, despite the fact that death is an expected outcome of life, no matter what is done to forestall or mitigate it in some manner.

One pre-Socratic philosopher that I haven’t mentioned so far is Heraclitus of Ephesus (535 - 475 BCE). He was known as the “riddler” because his writings were considered to be so obscure. Professor McEviley has speculated that Heraclitus made his break-through philosophical proposals with the help of a translated copy of several of the Indian Upanishads. He took an interesting stand in regards to the paradox of the One and the Many, using a logic defying approach that unites all opposites, including the opposites of the One and the Many. He stated that there must be a balance between the One and the Many. In this fashion, we might approach the nature of the Many as saying that it is both an illusion as well as real, depending on our momentary point of view. It could also propose that the One is static and yet also capable of moving and changing, representing the fact that any hardened definition about something that is highly abstract (and absolute) cannot be fully completely validated.

I believe that there has to be some kind of variance in our philosophical perspectives and opinions instead of proposing absolutes, and that any hypothesis only approaches the greater truth to a certain extent. What this does is to make any and all systems of philosophy and religion to be uncertain and not knowable in the absolute sense; that the absolute reality is essentially unknowable and unknown. I suspect that this approach allows for a greater overall flexibility so that we, as modern occultists, can accept both our occult metaphysics and modern science simultaneously without any dichotomy or dissonance.

We can therefore rejoice in the majesty and beauty of the material world, marvel at the advances of modern science and see the manifestation of Spirit in the wonder of nature. We can also change this perspective and see what is behind the material reality that is the domain of Spirit, and we can also personally experience the union of all being that connects everything into a single essential experience of one-ness. All of these perspectives are valid in their turn, and none of them can either contradict or negate the others. If any of them can be experienced in some manner and rationally determined, then they are as real as the solid material reality in which we live.

Yet pervading the manifestation of these many diverse and different perspectives is the One, which can only be experienced within ourselves, and then in the most exalted states of consciousness. The Few, as the archetypes of the unifying consciousness of being as it exists in the domain of the Many, is also important, since it represents the instruments through which the One is able to impact and shape the material world. We can use these instruments to manipulate the material world or to achieve conscious union with the One.

Epilogue

I think that the origin of monism is a human response to the overwhelming great variety of material things found in the world. It is based on the same ordering principle or impulse that drove the derivation of early astronomy, geometry and basic music theory. It is the desire to find that one unifying principle behind the multiple derivations of the material world. It is based on the concept that if everything is distinct and unique, then the greater world is unknowable, and that anything can only be known singularly and distinctly. As Thomas McEviley has stated so eloquently:

“The preoccupation with the Problem of the One and the Many expressed a desire to know the universe in some larger sense than that, by finding principles which would render every situation knowable with or without direct experience of it. Superficial diversity was to be tamed and made knowable by apprehension of underlying unity.”

This need to know and understand the unknowable is what drives modern science and also occult and various spiritual speculations. To achieve this end, seekers search out common attributes that can be used to determine the underlying structures or unity that generates a greater knowledge out of the apparent diversity of various phenomena. This is why I believe that acquiring a monistic spiritual perspective is so important, natural and has profound consequences.

Monday, August 12, 2013

This is part 1 of a two part series of articles on the nature of pagan monism, it's history and importance to modern paganism. Since I have written that I am a monist, I felt that it was important to define exactly what that was, and how I used it in my study and practice. Part 1 is an introduction to the concept of pagan monism, where I will attempt to lay down the basic elements of that system of philosophy in a manner that will make sense to the average Pagan and Wiccan.

I have been a pagan monist now for many years. Even so, I have always elected not to name or give attributes to that element of the One which I have tangibly experienced from time to time when I have worked my most intense magical rites or engaged in deep forms of meditation. It was only when I read the book “The Shape of Ancient Thought” by Thomas McEviley that I discovered the more intrinsic and varied aspects of that belief which I had adopted, and that the progression from polytheism to monism was a natural one and not an anomaly as some had led me to believe. This revelation helped me to advance my understanding of this phenomenon from that of a mythic perspective to one that unfolded into a kind of religious philosophy. Thus, with the aid of this book, I transformed myself from a religious faith-based adherent to an occult philosopher with a much wider view.

Monism is the belief that everything (as the Many) has its origin and source in the One, which can be called the Unity of All Being. I had conceived of that union as being mythologically represented by the sexual union of the Goddess and the God within my Wiccan duo-theological construct. That One was both the child (product) of their union as well as their origin and source. Despite being paradoxical, this explanation seemed natural to me and I have held it in my mind and heart for the many decades of my religious and magical practice. It has always been a mythological construct, and in order to make it more powerful and universal, I have found myself moving towards a philosophical perspective and away from the mythological.

Monism, however, is not to be confused with monotheism, which represents the belief in one deity as opposed to any other, and an elevation of that single deity into an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent being, thereby acting independently and completely outside of all of creation. Monotheism is a very special case of monism, but it requires a completely closed system in order to withstand the rigors of logical analysis. Monotheistic religions are problematic since they must define all other experiences of deity outside their definition as either erroneous or diabolical, since they hold a monopoly on the one true definition and attributes of a singular and supreme being. Monism, on the other hand, is completely inclusive and can accommodate and even validate all variations of religious experience.

Monotheism devalues the material world, since that superlative being who created it is perfect and thereby totally transcends it. Nature is perceived as flawed and imperfect in contrast to the single deity, and all material beings are subject to death and decline, while the deity itself is immortal and ageless. Anything tainted by nature is considered to be rendered outside of the purview of the deity, and thereby the material world and living bodies are perceived as the source of corruption and evil. It is also a trap for the soul that resides in each and everyone of us. If nature is inherently evil and the deity is good, then there is a functional duality established between them, and it is most critically realized within the core of every human being; since the place where soul and body meet is a battle ground for good and evil. It is not unusual, therefore, that monotheism requires an adversary, a devil, or even a host of demons who are allowed to torment humanity as a form of tempering and a method of proving the integrity of each individual soul.

Monotheism also seems to devalue the individual by eliminating all consideration that there is an aspect of deity within each and every being, and this ultimately invites the duality of matter and spirit to emerge from within the core of humanity, since it easily explains the gulf between individual souls and the one (supposedly) true deity. That deity within human nature becomes nothing more than a soul, which can be elevated or consigned to destruction without any further consideration. The gulf between deity and humanity is absolute, and it can’t be bridged except by another deity (avatar) or by the perfection of faith and practice, and even then such a bridge is illusionary.

Despite perfect faith, pious good works or the elevation of an intermediary (Jesus), the monotheistic god is still absolute, and humans are minute, flawed and incapable of achieving union with their deity. Still, that absolute deity judges the individual soul and either rewards or punishes it. The soul is, of course, always in the state of being “other” to the deity, much as a master craftsman is to his created artifice. What this means is that we, the members of the human race, are forever doomed to wander the world bereft of the greater truth of spiritual union with that aloof and totally transcendent deity. Deity and humanity are, in a word, mutually exclusive.

A monist, in contrast to a monotheist, sees deity as a finite but important and valid manifestation. It is an essential spiritual emanation of the One, which is the only element that has any transcendental attributes. All Deities are real and all religions are valid to a point, but no single deity or creed has a monopoly on Spirit or the greater spiritual truth. The fact that monism (in some cases) also proposes that there is a corresponding attribute of deity within each human being, where everything is connected to that greater union through the intercession of the lesser union, and that there is no actual difference between the greater and lesser union (other than what we perceive as differences), represents a world that is devoid of duality. In short, everything is unified within the One, but that unity is greater than the sum of its parts. It also means that the union within us is accessible and can cause us to directly experience spiritual phenomena within its own domain. It also represents what Ken Wilber has called the “Eye of Spirit,” which is based on activating the God/dess Within and perceiving the world through it.

I believe that we perceive Spirit and Godhead through the sensibilities of our internal godhead, and without it, we would be spiritually blind. When someone talks about their religious experiences which occur between them and their Deity and thereby objectifies them, or that they feel an intimate impression of that Godhead in their personal lives, then what they are talking about are the effects of their own internal godhead whether or not they are able to perceive it as such.

If someone thinks that their God guides their steps or causes catastrophes (an act of God in the material world) to teach them some kind of moral truth, then they are projecting that internal deity out into the material world. Religious people have a sensorial connection to that internal deity and it acts as the very foundation for their faith. Conversely, atheists and agnostics are unable to sense or feel a connection to their internal deity, and so for them, that deity has no basis in reality. Monism seems to have the answers to these and many other questions, so we should begin to discuss the nature of monism in greater detail and so share and revel in this knowledge.

Monism has a long history, longer in fact than the proclivity for monotheism, even though its various tenets were not thoroughly worked out until just before the time of the birth of Christianity. We can find the belief and practice of a form of monism in all of the ancient cultures that were nominally pagan back to the bronze age, and how it emerged as a full-fledged system of religious philosophy is both interesting and fascinating.

The idea that all gods somehow blend into a single super deity, or that there is some kind of greater unifying aspect of being above and beyond the host of deities within the accepted pantheon has been a commonly perceived phenomenon for many centuries before either monism or monotheism occurred. Egyptians called this unity “Neteru,” which is the word for god but without any qualifiers. Other cultures selected their chief deity as an amalgam of the super-deity, such as Brahman in India, Marduk in Mesopotamia, Zeus in Greece, or Amen-Ra in Egypt. Perhaps this indicates nothing more than an ordering principle at work, but what it represented was the first mythological stirring of monism.

Whichever ancient culture we happen to focus on, there appears to be a process in motion where the many gods and goddesses of a national pantheon are blended into a single deity. As everything becomes defined as a part of this vast meta-deity, including all of the material world and everything in it, then everything becomes imbued with the spirit and essence of that meta-deity. Such an all-inclusive definition of deity produces a world that is defined by a kind of spiritual pantheism. What has driven this process is the political amalgamation that has brought diverse and unique cultures clashing together to create a meta-culture (empire) that allowed for common laws, extensive trade and communications, and also elevated the chief deity of that conquering culture into a trans-cultural meta-deity. That process of coalescing a pantheon of deities into a single meta-deity is called “macranthropy,” from macranthropus or “cosmic person.”

Macranthropy, or the creation of a meta-deity from a pantheon of many deities, allows for the paradox of both focusing on a single unified deity as well as focusing on the individual deities within the pantheon. Unlike monotheism, a plurality of deities is allowed since they are seen as facets or attributes of the one meta-deity. The one meta-deity transcends all of the other deities in that pantheon, but it doesn’t negate or eliminate them. In fact, any of the deities in that pantheon could be used to establish a meta-deity. The starting point is, of course, a kind of henotheism, or where an individual focuses exclusively on just one deity within a pantheon for a specific purpose or achieving a goal. Macranthropy establishes a correspondence between the smaller or more numerous elements of a subset of the universe (microcosm) and the One, which is the transcendental point of union greater than all of the individual elements that it contains (macrocosm). All of the other anthropomorphic gods are seen as parts of a single anthropomorphic body of a meta-deity, thereby the shape of the universe itself is analogous to the human body.

As the idea of macranthropy evolves within a culture, then over time that transcendental meta-deity becomes divested of any attributes. It is no longer represented by any kind of exalted aspect of deity, and the notion of the macrocosmic union is rendered into a philosophical abstraction which is called the One, or the Good, or the Unity of Being. The meta-deity has been demythologized and now becomes a transcendent place holder instead of a super-godhead. Even though this process of abstraction has occurred, it has not subjugated or eliminated the notion that there are many diverse gods (or religions) that one might engage with or even worship as powerful and animated beings.

(As you can see, monotheism was never able to get beyond the more evolved notion that the Unity of Being has no attributes and therefore cannot function as a godhead. Monotheism, in my opinion, got stuck at the half-way point between a meta-deity and the philosophical notion of the One, which is much more subtle and complex. It was easier to just establish one’s concept of a single meta-deity as the singular universal godhead than attempting to demythologize that point of unity in order to realize its essential truth. Later on, a comprehensive theology had to be developed that explained and established the dogma of this singular godhead. That development was never able to completely dominate or eradicate all of the other religions in the world, so it remained an inconclusive sectarian perspective on the nature of spiritual truth.)

When the One becomes emptied of any attributes of a specific godhead or deity, then it becomes possible to realize it through the process of philosophy and contemplation - worship is no longer possible or desirable. Everything is left intact in such a cultural environment regarding the State and family based pagan religions, except now there is a known element that is truly transcendent. Further insights will lead certain select and inspired individuals to realize that the One is also resident within the center of each human being, and that there is no difference between the macrocosmic One and the microcosmic One - they are the same.

I am getting ahead of myself here in this narration on monism, so lets examine the history of how monism emerged from religion in ancient Greece so we can establish the foundation of this special religious philosophy, keeping in mind that what happened there also happened in India and earlier in other places as well (Egypt and Mesopotamia). I want to present a very brief and simple history of philosophy in Greece and also focus on the basic elements of the concept of the One, the Many, and how they are resolved and interrelated within the notion of the Few. This will bridge the teachings of the early pre-Socratic philosopher Thales all the way down through Plato. I will attempt to show how powerful and useful monism is to modern pagans, and how it can shape and strengthen the philosophical basis of modern paganism.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

This is part three of a series of articles that will demonstrate the results that I encountered many years ago when I sought to invoke and contact the spirits of the Nephilim, namely the four greater chiefs of that body. I use the term Nephilim to describe the fallen angels of the Sons of God who came down to earth to mate with the “daughters of men” as well as their offspring, who were considered giants (men or women of renown). From these spirits I received a body of lore and a perspective on Enochian magick that is completely unprecedented. I would like to share with my readers some of the lore that I received from these entities and to demonstrate that the Nephilim are indeed highly important to the Enochian system of magick. I will follow up the first article with a second that will reveal the results of the invocation of Ramat’el. If you are wondering what happened to the invocation of Shemiezez, which would have been the second invocation in this series, I have already posted the results of that working in a previous article. If you haven’t read it or need to refresh your memory, you can find it here.

Notes from the Invocation of Ramat’el

This invocation produced an enormous amount of data, some of it consisting of diagrams and pictures. It was performed on November 22, in the early morning hour of 12:45 AM EST during the planetary hour of Sol. There were no premonitions encountered during this rite, but there were feelings of peacefulness pervading throughout the temple. This working was very intense and experienced on a very deep level. Most of the information that was transmitted to me occurred in the days following the invocation, especially on the following Friday, November 27, just a day before the next invocation. The process of the invocation intruded on my waking thoughts and in my dreams from Sunday on through the week, culminating on Friday afternoon. (Friday was a holiday, since Thursday was the traditional day for Thanksgiving.)

Enochian Mystery Pattern and Other Lore

I heard voices talking to me, and I noted down everything that they said.

“The perenial philosophy is alive. The currents [of magick] are living currents. The [initiatory] lineages are actually egregoric entities in an occult neural network.”

“All systems are living systems [within consciousness], by definition. They are dynamic.”

I was then directed to take a deck of Tarot trumps and to shuffle it for a time, so as to completely radomize it. I then dealt out the cards in the order of the Cycle of Initiation, so that they were in four groups of 5 cards, 6 cards, 5 cards, and finally, 6 cards. This is the pattern that was revealed to me, and it said to be the Enochian Mystery Initiation Cycle.

Threshold Crossing - VII, XVII, X, XIX, XVIII

Ordeal - II, 0, XXI, XI, XIV, I

Vision - VIII, XV, III, VI, XII

Return - V, XIII, IV, XVI, XX, XI

[It will be necessary to perform a complete analysis of these trump card positions in order to determine the characteristics of the Enochian Initiation Cycle.]

Once the initiation cycle was noted down, the voices continued to instruct me.

“All occult correspondences represent the archetypal values of the Cyber-PSI Network. Although the correspondences must be experienced through ritual. A master ritual that formulates the pattern of correspondences that are chosen is known as a Mystikon (for it’s divination potential). It is a magickal machine consisting of a dynamically activated occult [meta]-system. A living occult system that is synthetically created is a magickal machine. The forces that it generates are considered a form of cyber psionics, and the form of the network is called the cyber-psionic matrix.There are natural correspondences, and these are archetypal and formless symbolic qualities that are qualified through the power of mental association (allegory). Not all combinations produce a living correspondence. Some are unworkable because they are incongruent and don’t represent a unified expression. However, when natural correspondences are qualified in a deliberate and creative manner, then they are considered synthetic. When they are made alive (awakened and realized), then they are synthetic and living systems, hence, cyberpsionicism. Thus all magick, great and small, produces the cyberpsionic effect, but when the correspondences are artfully arranged and expressed through ritual, the resulting process is a magick computer, which is a form of cyberpsionic intelligence that has been synthesized.”

[This section is obviously talking about the nature of magical machines and how they are assembled and used in ritual magick.]

Undefined - Behind unity as the unmanifest is chaos, which is the recursive master pattern for all dynamic consciousness. This is symbolized by the serpent biting its own tail, and also the Möbius strip.

A magical machine should consist of the following numeric systems - 4 - 7 - 10 - 12. These are the elements of the mystikon (the divinatory structures of the machine). They way this is to worked is through the use of many sided dice. The following is an example of the kinds of dice that would be used in a magical machine.

3 sets of 12 sided dice (zodiacal timing)

1 set of 20 sided dice (Qabalistic structures)
2 sets of 6 sided dice

2 sets of 4 sided dice (elemental energy)
2 sets of 8 sided dice

A pendulum would be used in conjunction with a special table (or trigon) where a table of correspondences would be painted on it. The table of correspondences would be depicted as a square table consisting of ten by ten cells (for Sephiroth attributes), surrounded by a ring divided into twenty-two sections (for the Pathways).

The four dimensions of the machine setting would consist of a throw of the many sided dice to determine the zodiacal timing, the Qabalistic structure and the energy. This combination would indicate the potential destiny and mark it for manifestation.

Ritual of the Mystikon Pattern (20 point system)

The ritual pattern for the mystikon consists of qualifications of the following elements:

12 point outer circle
7 point or septagram structure with a gateway (4 Angles or Watchtowers and Western Gateway) as inner structure. (Uses 7 invocations of the sephiroth seven rays)

Total of 19 points in the layered periphery - the central point is the 20th point.

The ritual structure consists of a seven-sided pyramid sitting within a double dodecahedron or dodecagon. The center has a gateway and a point of union (for the entire ritual pattern). This is the ritual pattern and structure for the mystikon, which is served by the four systems of divination listed above.

[These rather obscure notes were later used to write up the Mystikon of Lilith ritual working. Another ritual was to be written up for Enoch, but that has not yet occurred.]

Ritual Comments

The invocation of Ramat’el was begun during the hour of Sol, when the Moon was in the Sign of Libra, two days before New Moon, on Sunday, November 22, 1992. The rite began at 12:45 AM EST, and was completed at 5:15 AM. The exteriorization occurred (via the solar gate) on Wednesday evening, on November 25.